Riverbender 🕸

Couples names: Ed & Lana Johnson City: Brighton Date met or started dating: August 11, 1971 Date married: February 23, 1973 What makes your relationship special? We both been so good to each other & we both provided for each other even in hard times. Sharing a love & a life God wants us to have. With doing that we have a beautiful family together! Also having the cutest puppy dog “Patty B”! Share a memory you have made together: A memory we share together, is we renewed our vowels 3 different times!

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Couples names: Stephen & Mariah Cope City: South Roxana Date met or started dating: September 30, 2018 Date married: February 18, 2022 What makes your relationship special? No matter what we go through, we are always there for each other at the end of the day. He is my rock and my best friend. Share a memory you have made together: Adding to our family and getting married in 2022 are my 2 favorite memories so far!

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Couples names: Nate & Kari Alderfer City: Greenfield Date met or started dating: August 1, 2014 Date married: September 26, 2015 What makes your relationship special? She is a great mother to our children and I could not be more blessed. Share a memory you have made together: We took our kids on a side by side trip to the creek and the kids saw a snake and would not get back in the water.

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Couples names: Anna & Trent City: Godfrey Date met or started dating: March 7, 2022 What makes your relationship special? I mean i don’t really know what would make our relationship special to anyone other then us. We are each other homes. Share a memory you have made together: We like to take my niece on dates and last week we took her to an arcade and she’s autistic and she really wanted a bear from this claw machine and she couldn’t grasp that we couldn’t get it so he sat there trying for about 20 mins and used about $40 just to get this bear for her it made her whole day and mine to see her hood it and laugh and smile and right after that we took her to McDonald’s ofc and she was scared to Go up in it alone but she really wanted to Go Down the slide but she was also scared so trent he’s a 6’4 man he got up in the play place and he went up the stairs and down the slide with her it was the best thing ever and the pure joy

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Couples names: Summer & Tyler City: Alton Date met or started dating: November 19, 2014 Date married: April 12, 2019 What makes your relationship special? As high school sweethearts, we got to experience many firsts and milestones together. We both grew together from a couple of teenagers, to adults with a 2 year old. We’re happily married and still haven’t left the “puppy love” stage. Share a memory you have made together: There are a lot of memories we’ve had together, but the one I remember most vividly is in 2015 we were watching James and the Giant Peach talking about our future and hoping we could make our future come true. Here we are 8 years later with everything and more!!

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BELLEVILLE - Edwardsville junior forward Malik Allen had a big game for the Tigers against East St. Louis on Feb. 10, leading all scorers with 19 points in Edwardsville's 57-38 loss to the Flyers at Lynx Arena at the Lindenwood University-Belleville campus. Allen, who is currently averaging 13.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, going along with 33 assists, 14 steals and a blocked shot, is starting to emerge as one of the key players in the Tigers' rotation as the regular season winds down and the IHSA Class 4A playoffs loom. Although East Side took control of the game in the third quarter, the Tigers kept plugging away and both played and worked hard throughout the game. "I thought we played hard, played to the capabilities that we could," Allen said about the East St. Louis game. "We're going to keep building, keep working, going to stay in the gym. The first half showed what we can do if we keep our energy up and everything. We kind of just let it get away, got a little tired, and

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Couples names: Chrissy & David City: Bethalto Date met or started dating: August 10, 1996 Date married: August 10, 1997 What makes your relationship special? We known each other our whole life. Share a memory you have made together: Back in 2020 he was a big part of saving my life along with our two children … I had a heart attack and a stroke and they saved my life.

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Couples names: Skylar & Nick City: Alton Date met or started dating: September 10, 2018 What makes your relationship special? I think what makes our relationship so special is that we are each others relief. We are always able to make each other feel better or laugh no matter the situation. Having met each other in 2018, there've been many memories we've gotten to make and milestones we hit together since then. We have been best friends from the start and that helped further build our bond over time. Share a memory you have made together: My favorite memory we have together is definitely seeing our baby on the ultrasound. Seeing the baby move and hearing the heartbeat was so special and was something we will both remember forever.

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Couples names: John & Brittany City: Bethalto Date met or started dating: September 3, 2022 What makes your relationship special? The love we have for one another after what we’ve been through is nothing short of amazing we both met at a Rough point in our lives and we’ve came together and flourished in such a short amount of time she’s my bestfriend honestly. Share a memory you have made together: Lots actually but probably going to the brewery lights for the first time ever that was pretty cool to experience that with her.

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Couples names: Aiden & Melody City: Wood River Date met or started dating: October 25, 2021 What makes your relationship special? I believe what makes our relationship so special is being best friends since 2nd grade and treating each other like we’re still best friends. Share a memory you have made together: Getting engaged in August.

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Couples names: Robyn & Jeremy City: Alton Date met or started dating: June 29, 2011 Date married: July 25, 2015 What makes your relationship special? We actually dated when we were teenagers and then were reunited 20 years later. Jeremy sent a random text one night to say that he had feelings for me and that was that! Share a memory you have made together: Jeremy and I have made many wonderful memories together. I think that the one that stands out most, and the moment that I knew I would spend y life with him, was when my oldest daughter hurt her head on the corner of a stone wall at Riverview Park during a Muny Band concert. She was sobbing and bleeding everywhere and he was so calm. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt and actually ripped his sleeve off to stop the bleeding. He joked with her to calm her down. It was one of the many times he has shown absolute kindness.

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Couples names: Caylee & Daniel City: Godfrey Date met or started dating: August 1, 2019 What makes your relationship special? When you have a best friend, your biggest fan and lover all in one, it makes life even better! We are constantly laughing and have so much fun together! He is my calm and I am his wild. We love trying new things and being ourselves around each other has always came naturally. The one thing I love the most about Daniel is that he stayed and loved my son like his own. And for that, I am forever grateful for him! Share a memory you have made together: We bought our first house for our family! I love knowing that we finally have our own home to make memories in for the rest of our lives!

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SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois harvested a statewide total of 801 wild turkeys during the 2022-2023 fall archery turkey season between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15. The total compares with the statewide fall archery turkey harvest of 683 in 2021-2022 and is the third-highest harvest total on record for the season in Illinois. The top five counties for fall archery wild turkey harvest this season were Vermilion with 27 turkeys harvested; Ogle, 24; Clay, 22; Marion, 21; and Randolph, 21. This season, 25,373 permits were sold (excluding landowner permits), compared to 24,768 for the 2021-2022 season. All 102 counties were open for hunting. The harvest consisted of 48% males and 52% hens. Below is a summary table of harvest by county compared to last year’s totals. County 2022-2023 2021-2022 Adams 8 12 Alexander 7 4 Bond 5 4 Boone 6 1 Brown 10 9 Bureau 5 12 Calhoun

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GODFREY – Sparks Junk Removal and Hauling, as it marks its 30th year in business, has been named the recipient of the RiverBend Growth Association’s February 2023 Small Business of the Month award. Owned by Denise Sparks, the company that got its start in 1993 as a ChemDry franchise carpet cleaning business has continued to evolve and grow over its years of operation to where it is today as a successful entrepreneurial venture with four employees and headquartered at 1816 Myrtle Street in Alton. The company recently moved into a 3,000-square-foot shop at 2201 East Broadway, Alton, where it also provides a drop-off service for couches, mattresses, recliners, etc. There is a charge for this service, and drop-offs must be scheduled in advance. “I began my journey as an entrepreneur in 1993 with ChemDry, and by 1999, I had emerged into smoke/fire and water damage, along with mold remediation,” noted Owner Denise Sparks. “By 2000, I had 35 employees. I tend

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MADISON - At 5:43 p.m. Friday, February 10, 2023, the Madison Police Department received a 911 call of a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Washington Avenue at 10th Street in the City of Madison. At the time of the initial call, minimal information was provided before the caller disconnected. At approximately 5:45 p.m. on Friday, a second call was received on the non-emergency line with the caller reported hearing gunshots before the crash. Officers were dispatched to the area and upon arrival, they located a vehicle that had apparently struck a tree at what appeared to be a high rate of speed. "Arriving officers administered first aid to the two occupants inside of the vehicle until EMS and the Madison Fire Department arrived on the scene," Madison Police Chief Jeffery Bridick said. "The Madison Fire Department requested mutual aid from Granite City Fire Department for an additional ambulance and assistance with extrication of the driver from the vehicle. "The male passenger

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BUZZ MAGAZINE - On February 14, 1926, a squalling baby girl entered the world in Centralia, Illinois. The lovely mother, her pale blonde hair and crystal blue eyes gathered aside her handsome husband’s dark curls and callused hands. All the wondering is now settled. Here she lay, Juanita Marie Rhodes. This first child was her mother’s daughter, a tiny fair maiden. The white house where she drew her first breath, some referred to as a shotgun house. So slight, you could fire a round from one end through to the other with a gun. The railroad worker became smitten with the young lady at a local dance. I have no doubt he had to be not only patient but persistent to win her hand in marriage. The beautiful and only remaining daughter of parents with old-world values and four protective brothers, she was their treasure. There would be no need for them to fret, Forest adored Alma. The new family swiftly settled into their forever. Juanita’s head full of blonde curls

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BUZZ MAGAZINE - My name is Lena Temeyer. I was born Lena Feuhrer on November 11, 1897, in Macon County, Illinois. My parents were farmers, on a rented farm, not far from Decatur. Over the years I’ve jotted down notes about my life. First, from what I remember growing up, and later, things that happened in my life as they occurred. I recorded these things because I thought my descendants might like to know. Now, they think you might want to know. I remember my home in Illinois very well. There were 12 of us kids - five girls and eight boys. Farmers usually had large families - more hands to help. My mother made the most delicious bread, and I will never forget the smell of it baking. Or the process of making butter. The whole family helped make butter from the “skim” off the top of the milk from the cows we had. We milked by hand back then, of course. We didn’t even have fly spray, so the cows’ tails would swat us in the face while we were milking as

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GRANITE CITY – Prather Early Childhood Coordinator Marci Dodds has been named the 2023 Early Childhood Teacher of the Year by The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), as announced Thursday by ISBE. Dodds was recognized Thursday with an assembly at Prather, and ISBE will celebrate the awardees at a banquet on April 29. Out of almost 500 applicants, Dodds was selected for this honor because of her commitment to the students and staff at Prather. You can read more about Dodds and the entire cohort of 2023 Teachers of the Year on ISBE’s program page. "I am grateful to be a part of a child's first experience with school. Being part of the team can show them that this is a safe place where they can learn new skills and meet new friends," said Dodds. "Being able to assist parents with the transition to their child being at school. It's just amazing to be able to be a part of so many firsts for families." Dodds is in her 18th year in the Granite City Community Unit School

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY - On Friday, February 10, 2023, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges on suspect Cherelle Nolan, 32 years of age, of the 10400 block of Count Drive in St. Louis, Missouri 63136, for Endangering the Welfare of a Child First Degree. A booking photo of Nolan is attached. Nolan is being held on $250,000 cash only, no 10%, bond. Please note, charges are merely an accusation and Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. The probable cause statement reads: On or about February 1, 2023, Defendant exposed 1-year-old Harmony Baker to Fentanyl causing her death. Defendant admitted that she has an addiction to Fentanyl and is the only person in the house who uses Fentanyl. On February 1, 2023, at 3:00 PM, St. Louis County police officers from the North County Precinct responded to a call for service for an infant not breathing in the 10400 block of Count Drive. Arriving officers located an unresponsive,

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New research from Penn State University suggests simply asking young people about suicide increases the chance they will get connected with mental health services. The research underscores the need for everyone to watch out for their loved ones' mental health. Health care providers, too, continue to try to chip away at the mental health crisis across the country. And the numbers drive home the point: The National Institute of Mental Health says nearly one in five adults suffers from a mental illness. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people and, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, was the 10 th -leading cause of death among all Americans. The CDC says in 2020, someone took their own life about once every 11 minutes on average. The suicide lifeline says for every one person who dies by suicide each year, 316 people seriously consider it. The lifeline has fielded more than 20 million

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